Cord Scrapbook Studio

Scrapbook Forecast: 72 & Sunny

There's sunshine in the forecast this weekend... did you hear? Spring has sprung and summer is on its way! Hallelujah! Mother Nature has promised a 70-degree Saturday here in Ohio so there couldn't be a better time to introduce the latest We R Memory Keepers collection hitting stores tomorrow and Friday--72 & Sunny.

 Can you smell the fresh cut grass yet? See the bright blue sky full of thick, puffy clouds? I know Spring has just started and the trees have barely begun to bud, but I am ready for summer. R-E-A-D-Y! And it's not just the warm sunshine or the cool evening breeze I'm anxious for--it's the activity! The great outdoors! The ability to plan something without having to consult the ol' weatherman.

72 & Sunny is another one of those collections that can be used for just about anything--vacations, pool parties, picnic lunches in the park... And along with the coordinating patterned papers and die-cut cardstocks you've got embossed die-cut tags, lace ribbons, glittered mini brads, chipboard stickers, acrylic stamps, and more!

 Enjoy the sunshine!
  

Cricut Limited Edition Summer Cartridges

Continuing in their quarterly tradition of releasing Limited Edition Mini cartridges to the market, Cricut has announced the next three themes in their arsenal--Summer in Paris, Summer Vacation and Independence Day.

All of them are expected to ship in mid-late April and will retail for $24.99. 

Since these typically go quickly, we are now accepting pre-orders for these cartridges and you can put your name in for one (or two or three) with no money down at your local Cord Scrapbook Studio--first come, first serve (naturally!)

Even though the quantities may be limited, the possibilities certainly aren't! I think the Summer in Paris cartridge would be a nice compliment to the Material Girl collection by Cosmo Cricket and the shapes available in the Summer Vacation cartridge are perfect for all of your summer travels & activities! I think the Ferris Wheel and the roller coaster are especially unique!
The fourth of July will be here before we know it... can you believe it?  I can almost taste the barbecued chicken and hear the fireworks now! The nice thing about this cartridge though is that it's not all fireworks and barbecues... it's more about celebrating our history and showing our patriotism! And if your child is one of those students making the trip to D.C. for school-- all you need for your scrapbook is this cartridge!

Just when you think they couldn't possibly come up with something else that's fresh and unique... it never fails.

National Scrapbooking Day 2010

 
There's a holiday for just about anything and everything nowadays, isn't there? But this one...this one is special .

This is the day papercrafters around the world unite to celebrate their shared passion for the arts. A passion for homemade cards and mini albums. A passion for pretty patterned papers and coordinating textured cardstock. A passion for all that glitters, like Smooches or Stickles and a passion for capturing a wink and a smile with your camera and documenting that moment on your scrapbook pages.

Passion is what defines our love for papercrafting. And consequently that love for papercrafting is what makes us want to par-TAY! So...

You are CORDially Invited
to a National Scrapbooking Day
Extravaganza!

Where: Cord Scrapbook Studio Graceland and Cord Scrapbook Studio Nora
When: Saturday, May 1st 10am - 6pm

Make-n-Takes, Product Demos, Special Offers and plenty of ideas and inspiration to help keep that passion alive!
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SPECIAL GUEST MAKE-N-TAKE
We're excited to welcome back Jill Yegerlehner (at Graceland) and Kimber McGray (at Nora) from Jillibean Soup! 
These two creative (and talented!) ladies will be hosting a FREE make-n-take in the morning from 11am to 1pm! Word on the street is they'll be featuring the Old World Cabbage Stew collection--one of our best sellers!

COPIC DEMO/MAKE-N-TAKE
Join us in the afternoon from 1pm-3pm and learn about the specialty markers that are all the rage in papercrafting and stamping! Wendy, our resident CERTIFIED Copic Instructor (Graceland) will show you a few tricks of the trade and Vicki (Nora) has a few tricks up her sleeve as well! Trust us... you won't want to miss it!

NATIONAL SCRAPBOOK DAY 12-HOUR CROP $12
Join us from 10am to 10pm for a marathon crop! Crop fee includes 12 hours of uninterrupted crop time with your own designated 4ft crop space and comfy (reclinable) chairs. Each cropper will receive a Snack Pack and Beverage, exclusive offers for their after-hours shopping delight as well as a special gift. Meals not provided. Standard crop rules and regulations apply.
Registration opens Thursday, April 1st!

 

 

What's New Wednesday: KI Memories

As I type, our warehouse is checking in our *new* KI Memories order from CHA! Woot! Woot! 

The Paisley Parade and Enchanting collections will begin to arrive in stores tomorrow (Nora & Graceland) and Friday (Delaware). Each collection includes double-sided patterned papers, die-cut paper and lace cardstock, photo mat pads and journaling tag pads, metal "badges" and rubber "softie" stickers, epoxy brads, rhinestone accents, layered stickers and glittered alphabet, border and icon stickers. That's quite a selection!

Enchanting is a collection that would be good for any number of themes--girl pages, baby pages, wedding, princess, Easter or Spring pages... It's a very pretty collection with a touch of that woodland spirit we see more and more of in the papercrafting world (birds, branches, florals...) 
Where Enchanting was soft and whimsical, Paisley Parade is crisp and colorful. It's a collection featuring--you guessed it--paisleys with a few happy florals mixed in for good measure. A little more muted than some of the collections we've seen roll in so far this month, Paisley Parade still delivers a powerful punch of pretty patterns and fashionable accents.
   Stay tuned tomorrow for a special announcement regarding National Scrapbook Day--Saturday, May 1st, 2010!

Sketch(es) of the Week by Little Book of Sketches

I'm very excited to bring you a fresh source of inspirational sketches compiled by the "Little Book of Sketches" blog. If you're like me (and I know a lot of you are), you can never have too many resources for that little "jolt" of creativity we all need from time to time!

What I love about LBOS is all the options... It's like a papercrafting smorgasbord of different sizes!

You've got your standard 12x12 sketches and all, but they've broken them down into double page layouts or single page layouts and the singles are separated by the number of photos you have: one, two, three, and four or more.  But the variety doesn't stop with the meat-and-potatoes of scrapbooking--the 12x12. Oh no... it goes on and on!

There are 6x6 and 8x8 sketches --single page AND double. (These are a must-have if you're planning on putting together any gift or themed albums in your future. Sketches keep your pages uniform and tidy not to mention the fact that they can really help speed up the process!)

For those of you who prefer to scrapbook in 8.5x11, they've got you covered there as well, with a variety of both landscape and portrait sketches for you to choose from!

And for our cardmakers, an extra special treat--sketches for square cards, rectangle cards, AND long rectangle cards. See what I mean by variety? It's not just the spice of life, but that little extra oomph you need to keep on scrappin' on!

But what really makes Little Book of Sketches incredibly unique, however, is not just the layout sketches, the card sketches or even the tag sketches... it's the Artist Trading Card (ATC) sketches! You know, that super-hot 2.5"x3.5" card craze flooding the wonderful world of papercrafting? Now... how cool is that? I mean, I've never seen sketches for those out there in sketch-land!!

Now that you're curious to see all of the designs available... click away and visit the Little Book of Sketches blog!

Please Note: All designs and images are copyright to the Little Book of Sketches... Reproduction, distribution, volume printing, electronic alteration or moderation of artwork, in whole or part is strictly prohibited without the written consent from the team at Little Book of Sketches.

*New* Collections for Spring and Summer Scrapbooking

We've got four new collections from Bo Bunny and they're perfect for all of your Spring and Summer scrapbooking needs. From Mother's Day to Memorial Day, rainy days to warm summer sunshine, the patterned papers, coordinating buttons, chipboard stickers, flowers and epoxy brads in each of these collections will ensure your photos have the best of the best behind them.

Jazmyne is the first up and with good reason. It's a Limited Edition Glitter Series of patterned papers featuring stunning florals in beautiful purple and green hues.

A big trend we noticed at CHA was more or less a tribute to the colors and patterns we often relate to the 60's! Bo Bunny's retro Flower Child collection is just that... a tribute. Personally, it reminds me of a lot of the colors you see in the summer--lemonade yellow, grass green, sky blue. I can NOT wait!

 
Sophie is another flowery collection that's got Easter and Mother's Day written all over it! (Well, not literally written on it, but you know what I mean!) It's a lot of fun!

 
And finally, there's Paradise.  If you're planning a trip to the beach this summer, now's the time to plan ahead for your scrapbooking! This line has a lot of those muted colors with a hint of a summer sunset mixed in which is just beachy.

 

All four lines are in stores now! For additional Bo Bunny inspiration, including samples of projects created using the products within these collections, visit the Bo Bunny blog.

Well hello, Thursday!

It's that time of the month again... more new Cricut cartridges expected to arrive sometime late April! Here's the skinny on the three most recent releases...

First up... Create a Critter.

Aren't these just the cutest little characters you ever did see? This cartridge is a wealth of possibilities for little kids birthdays, nurseries, classrooms, and more! I personally like the little blue hippo... and the little monkey...

 And speaking of a child's nursery... how about this Nursery Rhyme cartridge? All of your favorite Mother Goose characters are coming to life with this one--Silhouette images perfect for vinyl cuts and home decor or you could make a mini nursery rhyme book for your little ones to read at home! 

And last but not least... look at all these Robotz! Talk about a trend that's been popping up all over the place in the scrapbook world. Just recently we had Bella Blvd's Robot Love and now there's the Live Loud robots from Imaginisce! Just imagine all of the different characters you could piece together with this cartridge!

So there you have it, Cricut fans... the latest and greatest from the folks at Provo Craft! Stores are accepting pre-orders for these three cartridges now!

What's New Wednesday: Sassafras!

We're excited to announce two new collections arriving in stores tomorrow and Friday--Nerdy Bird and Apple Jack by Sassafras!

 
Nerdy bird is one of those collections that calls out to your inner crafter. The carefree, whimsical side of your creative persona that likes to keep things light and artsy. Its bright colors and memorable characters also make it kid-friendly--think birthdays, school activities, and capturing your child's true personality!

And then there's...
  
This is another super kid-friendly collection that really captures the carefree spirit of a child with its fun-filled elementary theme and pallette of primary colors and basic shapes. Apple Jack and Nerdy Bird both feature double-sided heavyweight patterned papers, coordinating glittered alphabet stickers, self-adhesive journaling tags, flag banners, element stickers and 6x6 paper pads.
    
One thing about Sassafras papers you may not know... That annoying little 1/2" strip you typically cut off of your 12x12 papers--you know, the one with the barcode, paper name, item # and all that jazz? Well.. Sassafras has done something pretty cool in that they've decorated it, die-cut it and made it into something that's useful instead of wasteful. How awesome is that?

For a healthy dose of project samples and inspiration to design using these two collections, visit the Sassafras blog! You can even pick up a fun, free blinkie (or two) to share your love of Sassafras with the world!    

A Tisket, a Tasket... Let's see some Easter Baskets!

There's only one time a year I allow myself to get all cutesy cutesy--and that's Easter.  You got your little bunnies and chicks, the pastel colored eggs and pretty Easter flowers and grasses that line the baskets, Easter dresses in the clothing stores with ruffles and lace and spring patterned papers in the scrapbook stores all flowery and bright. After a dreary winter and muddy rains, these little details can't help but lift your spirits. And even a tomboy like me can appreciate that!

In the crafting world, Eastertime is not without it's creative endeavors and to prove it, the blogosphere has seen quite a bit of inspiration these last couple of weeks! Here are a few favorite Easter Basket postings I've seen and thought I'd share! 

If you visit SEI's blog you'll find instructions (complete with step-by-step images) for creating paper Easter Baskets. All you need is a ruler, a bone folder, some brads and a pretty double-sided patterned paper or solid sheet of cardstock to assemble one of your own! Make them in a variety of sizes and fill with all the typical Easter Basket goodies for family, friends and co-workers!

Jillibean Soup had a post not too long ago showcasing all kinds of Easter projects using their Egg Drop Soup collection. From treat bags to decorative ornaments and a unique take on an altered peat pot (that pretty much tops the creativity charts as being the ultimate Spring gift basket--ever) there's quite a few ideas to choose from if you're looking for a small something for a neighbor, teacher, grandparent, etc.

Making Memories posted a link to Suzonne Stirling's beautifully hand-crafted Easter Baskets here...
It's amazing what can be done with double-sided patterned papers, a bone folder, some floral wire, crepe paper and a few felt flowers here and there, isn't it?  You can find instructions to put together your own customized baskets like Suzonne did on her blog. 

Have you got a creative idea for making homemade Easter Baskets? Or perhaps its not the baskets you've decorated but the objects inside? We'd love to see them! You can link us up to your baskets by posting a link in the comments section or just visit our Flikr photostream and post your creation!

Sketch of the Week: Pink Paislee

This week's sketch comes from Pink Paislee's Sunday Sketch by Jana Eubank. The sketch itself is a lot of fun, but when you see what Jana did with it, the sketch really comes to life.

  
I especially love how she trimmed a die-cut paper to use as the background behind her photos and then set apart her focal point photo using a frame.  The punched out circles and flowers add visual interest and are so easy to accomplish using a variety of punches and foam adhesives!

Jana's layout was created using the Cupid collection by Pink Paislee, however any collection that features coordinating patterned papers or die-cut papers would work. I am especially in love with the new 365 degrees line by Pink Paislee... the patterns are small and simple--great for scrapbooking and card-making--and the colors are perfect for summer pages in deep blue, bright orange, red and green!

  Pink Paislee is just another of those scrapbooking companies that thrives on passing along the inspiration to its customers. There's even a section on their website called "Pink Projects" where you can download the supply list and instructions for a variety of altered arts, cards, and home decor projects!

There's usually a new sketch posted Saturday or Sunday of each week. If this particular sketch has inspired to create a layout of your own, be sure to link your creation up to their blog and then if you'd like, upload it to our Flikr photostream! 

Have a great week!